i. THE DIVERSITY OFRELIGIONS AND THE PROBLEMSOF DEFINITION

i.i. Elements of the Definition of Religion

There is no one definitive definitionof religion that is generally accepted byscholars. Among the many definitionsthat have been advanced there are, how-ever, a number of elements that are fre-quently invoked. These elements appearin various combinations. They include:

(a) Beliefs, practices, relationshipsand institutions relative to:

1) supernatural forces, beings,or goals;

2) higher unseen power or powers;

3) man’s ultimate concern;

4) sacred things (things set apartand forbidden);

5) an object of spiritual devotion;

6) an agency that controls man’sdestiny;

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Scientology■

An Analysisand Comparison of its Religious Systems

and Doctrines

Bryan R. Wilson, Ph.D.Emeritus Fellow

Oxford UniversityEngland

7)the ground of being;

8) a source of transcendentknowledge and wisdom;

(b) Practices which constituteobedience, reverence or worship;

(c) The collective or group characterof religious life.

Although causes are rarely includedin definitions of religion, “an experien-tial encounter with the spiritual” issometimes indicated. The consequencesand functions of religion are indicatedas:

(a) maintenance of a moralcommunity;

(b) the conferment of group and/or individual identity;

(c) a framework of orientation;

(d) a humanly constructed universeof meaning;

(e) reassurance and comfort respecting prospects of help andsalvation.

Religion is always normative, butsince each religion differs from others,modern specialists in the sociology ofreligion and comparative religion seek todiscuss the normative without them-selves becoming committed to it.

Such is the diversity of patterns ofbelief, ritual, and organization, however,that any definition of religion is strainedin attempting to encompass all the man-ifestations of religion that are known.

i.ii. The Original Use of the Concept

The concept “religion” was formerlyoften identified with actual concretemanifestations of beliefs and practicesin Western society. Apart fromChristians, Jews and Muslims, it wasgenerally held that other peoples hadno religion in the proper sense. Theywere “heathens”. Theologians who usedthe term “religion” tended to mean byit Christianity, and in England refer-ence to “Christianity” was often takento mean that faith as purveyed specifi-cally by the Church of England. Thatrestricted usage has steadily receded asmore has become known of orientalbelief-systems, and as the study of religion has transcended the narrownormative prescriptive restraints of traditional Christian theology. Religionhas become an object of study for academic disciplines — in particularthe social sciences — which approachthat subject objectively and neutrallyand without any implication of adher-ence to any one particular religion, or apreference for one above another.

i.iii. Cultural Bias andthe Definition of Religion

The development of a thorough-going neutrality in the study of religionwas achieved only slowly, however.Some contemporary studies in compar-ative religion still manifest evident bias.Even in the social sciences, explicitlycommitted to value-free enquiry, cer-tain prejudices are apparent in workdone in the inter-war years. In particu-lar, it was often gratuitously assumedthat there had occurred a process ofreligious evolution analogous to that ofbiological evolution and that the

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religion of the most advanced nationswas necessarily “higher” than that ofother peoples. For some (conspicuous-ly Sir James Frazer) it was believed thatreligion was an evolutionary step onthe road from magic to science.

i.iv. Contemporary Usage

Today social scientists and increas-ingly theologians employ the conceptas a neutral expression, no longerimplying any a priori assumptions aboutthe greater truth of one religion overanother. It is not now assumed thatbelief in one deity is necessarily a high-er form of religion than belief in sever-al deities or in none. It is recognizedthat a religion may postulate ananthropomorphic god, some otherform of deity, a supreme being, a plu-rality of spirits or ancestors, a universalprinciple or law, or some other expres-sion of ultimate belief. Some Christiantheologians such as Bultmann, Tillich,van Buren and Robinson have aban-doned traditional depictions of deity,and prefer to refer to “the ground ofbeing” or “ultimate concern”.

i.v. Extension of the Concept

As anthropologists came to main-tain that there was no clear instance ofa society that lacked all forms of super-natural beliefs and institutions thatsupported such beliefs, so they con-cluded that, in the wider sense of theterm, there was no society without reli-gion. The concept “religion” came toconnote phenomena that had familyresemblance rather than shared identi-ty, and religion ceased to be defined interms specific to one particular tradition. The concrete items that

pertained to Christianity, and whichhad been regarded as essential to thedefinition of religion, were now seen tobe merely examples of what a defini-tion might include. The specificationof such concrete elements was super-seded by more abstract formulationswhich embraced a variety of types ofbeliefs, practices and institutionswhich, although far from intrinsicallyidentical, could be regarded as func-tional equivalents. Every society wasperceived to have beliefs that,although diverse, transcended knownempirical reality and had practicesdesigned to bring men into contact orrapport with the supernatural. In mostsocieties, there were people whoundertook the special functions associ-ated with respect to this goal.Together, these elements came to berecognized as constituting religion.

i.vi. Religious Diversityin Simple Societies

In relatively small, tribal societiesthere are often rites and myths of con-siderable complexity which do notusually constitute one consistent,internally integrated and coherent sys-tem. Religion undergoes change, andaccretion occurs in both myth and rit-ual as a society experiences contactwith neighbouring or invading peo-ples. Different rites and beliefs may beattached to different situations (e.g.,to induce rain, to ensure fertility incrops, animals and women; to provideprotection; to cement alliances; to ini-tiate age-groups or individuals, etc.).All such activities are directed to-wards supernatural agencies (howeverdefined) and they are recognized byscholars as religious.

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i.vii. Religious Diversityin Advanced Societies

The codes of religious belief and prac-tice in technically more advanced societiesare generally more elaborately articulatedand display greater internal coherence andstability, but even in advanced systems, ele-ments of diversity persist. No theologicalsystem or schematization of beliefs pertain-ing to the supernatural, in any of theworld’s great religions, is wholly coherent.There are always unexplained residues.There are also remnants of earlier religiousorientations such as folk religious elementswhich persist among the general populace.The sacred scriptures of all major religionsmanifest internal contradictions andinconsistencies. These and other sourcesgive rise to differences among religious spe-cialists who embrace different and at timesirreconcilable interpretative schemes andexegetical principles, which feed differenttraditions even within what is broadlyacknowledged to be orthodoxy.

i.viii. Developmentof Religious Pluralism

In advanced societies, deliberate andconscious dissent from orthodoxy mustbe regarded as a normal phenomenon.Christians, Jews and Muslims are divid-ed, not only within orthodoxy, but bydissentient groups which reject all formsof orthodoxy and which follow a diver-gent pattern of religious practice (or whoreject religion altogether). Dissent ismost conspicuous in contexts in whichreligious exclusivity prevails: that is tosay, in which the individual is required, ifadhering to one religion, to renounceallegiance to all others — a pattern ofcommitment rigorously required in the

Judaeo-Christian-Islamic traditions. Asstate governments have ceased to pre-scribe specific forms of religion, dissent-ing religious bodies have been both tol-erated and granted certain general reli-gious privileges in European countries,and have come in many cases to enjoythe general freedom of religion embracedconstitutionally in the United States.The situation which obtains today of alarge number of different denominationsoperating side-by-side is known as “reli-gious pluralism”.

i.ix. Normative and NeutralApproaches to Religion

A religion characteristically sets outcertain stories (myths) and propositionsrespecting the supernatural which areexpected to command belief. It prescribesritual performances. It sustains institutions(in the broad sense of regulated relation-ships, whether at a rudimentary personallevel or as a complex system of behaviour,procedures and property-maintenance). Itsometimes also stipulates rules of moralconduct, although the rigour of such stipu-lation and the sanctions attached to moral-ity vary considerably. But, at least, religiondefines obligations and promises rewardsfor conformity in the shape of supernatu-rally provided benefits. Religion consti-tutes a normative system. Religious teach-ers (“theologians” in Christianity — butthe term is inappropriate for some otherreligions) necessarily endorse and enjointhese norms. In contrast, social scientistsregard the values which a religion canvass-es merely as facts, neither endorsing nordenying their warrant or their worth. Thisapproach resembles that of those formula-tions of the law which declare that the lawdoes not discriminate among religions.

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Because religion is normative and intellec-tually has been mainly the preserve of the-ologians, there is, in all advanced societies,an inheritance of learned language aboutreligion which bears the normative stampof religious commitment. It is deemedessential here to avoid the value-preferenceimplicit in such language and to employthe neutral terminology of thesocial sciences, whilst seekingto maintain an appropriatesensitivity to those engaged inreligious activity.

i.x. ‘Borrowed’Nomenclature

Early definitions anddescriptions of the essentials ofreligion frequently used termsborrowed from the religioustraditions of those who formu-lated them. It is now recog-nized that the use of termspeculiar to one religion mustdistort the depiction of other religions, andmay frequently involve false assumptions.Concepts evolved within one cultural andreligious tradition will misrepresent thefunctionally equivalent but formally dis-tinctive elements of religion in another.Instances of such inappropriate usageinclude reference to “the Buddhistchurch”, “the Muslim priesthood” or, inreference to the Trinity, “Christian gods”.Similarly, although acts of reverence, obei-sance, contemplation, or dedication occurin all advanced religions, commentatorshave not always recognized them as wor-ship because, in Western usage, that termhas been heavily loaded with Christianpreconceptions and prescriptions concern-ing appropriate attitudes and actions. Forexample, the functional equivalent of

Christian worship in cultivating the dispo-sitions of worshippers occurs in Buddhismbut its form is different and it is normallydescribed by other terms. Thus, if religionsare to be accorded parity, it becomes neces-sary to adopt abstract definitive terms toencompass the diversity of religious phe-nomena.

i.xi. The InherentDeficiency of Abstractor Objective Analysis

This use of abstract lan-guage, which may be regardedas “clinical” in the sense of notbeing contaminated by theparticular traditions of any onereligion, will necessarily fail tocapture all the intrinsic quali-ties of any specific faith but itis a necessity if an appraisal isto be achieved. It will exhaustneither the cognitive nor theemotional aspects of belief, rit-ual, symbolism and institu-

tions. This social scientific approach makespossible objective comparison and expla-nation, but it does not, and does not pre-tend to, convey the whole substance of theinner meaning or emotional appeal that areligion has for its own adherents.

ii. THE INDICIAOF RELIGION

ii.i. The Principal Characteristicsof Religion

In accordance with the foregoing con-siderations, we may now indicate, inabstract and general terms, the principalcharacteristics of religion. What followsdoes not purport to be a universally

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If religionsare to be accorded

parity,it becomesnecessary

to adopt abstractdefinitive

termsto encompass

the diversity ofreligious

phenomena.

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applicable definition so much as the enu-meration of features and functions whichare frequently found in religion, andwhich are identified as such.

These are:

(a) belief in an agency (or agencies)which transcend(s) normal sense percep-tion and which may even include anentire postulated order of being;

(b) belief that such an agency notonly affects the natural world and thesocial order, but operates directly upon itand may even have created it;

(c) the belief that at some times inthe past explicit supernatural interven-tion in human affairs has occurred;

(d) supernatural agencies are held tohave superintended human history anddestiny: when these agencies are anthro-pomorphically depicted they are usuallycredited with definite purposes;

(e) the belief is maintained thatman’s fortune in this life and in afterlife(or lives) depends on relationships estab-lished with, or in accordance with, thesetranscendental agencies;

(f) it is often (but not invariably)believed that whilst transcendent agen-cies may arbitrarily dictate an individ-ual’s destiny, the individual may, bybehaving in prescribed ways, influencehis experience either in this life or infuture life (lives) or both;

(g) there are prescribed actions forindividual, collective or representativeperformances — namely, rituals;

(h) elements of placatory action per-sist (even in advanced religions) bywhich individuals or groups may suppli-cate for special assistance from supernat-ural sources;

(i) expressions of devotion, gratitude,obeisance or obedience are offered by, orin some cases, are required of believers,usually in the presence of symbolic rep-resentations of the supernaturalagency(ies) of the faith;

(j) language, objects, places, edifices,or seasons that are particularly identifiedwith the supernatural become sacralizedand may themselves become objects ofreverence;

(k) there are regular performances ofritual or exposition, expressions of devo-tion, celebration, fasting, collectivepenance, pilgrimage and re-enactmentsor commemorations of episodes in theearthly life of deities, prophets or greatteachers;

(l) occasions of worship and exposi-tion of teachings produce the experienceof a sense of community and relation-ships of goodwill, fellowship and common identity;

(m) moral rules are often enjoinedupon believers, although the area oftheir concern varies: they may becouched in legalistic and ritualisticterms, or they may be canvassed more asconformity with the spirit of a less specific, higher ethic;

(n) seriousness of purpose, sustainedcommitment and lifelong devotion arenormative requirements;

(o) according to their performance,believers accumulate merit or demerit towhich a moral economy of reward andpunishment is attached. The precisenexus between action and consequencevaries from automatic effects from givencauses to the belief that personal demer-it may be cancelled by devotional andritual acts, by confession and repen-tance, or by special intercession fromsupernatural agents;

(p) there is usually a special class ofreligious functionaries who serve as cus-todians of sacred objects, scriptures, andplaces; specialists in doctrine, ritual andpastoral guidance;

(q) such specialists are usually paidfor their services, whether by tribute,reward for specific services, or by insti-tuted stipend;

(r) when specialists devote them-selves to the systematization of doctrine,the claim is regularly made that religiousknowledge provides solutions for allproblems, and explains the meaning andpurpose of life, often including purportedexplanations of the origin and operationof the physical universe and of humanpsychology;

(s) legitimacy is claimed for religiousknowledge and institutions by refer-ence to revelation and tradition: inno-vation is regularly justified as restora-tion; and

(t) claims to the truth of teachingand efficacy of ritual are not subjectedto empirical test, since goals are ulti-mately transcendent and faith isdemanded both for goals and for the

arbitrary means recommended for theirattainment.

The foregoing items are not to beregarded as sine qua non, but as proba-bilities: they constitute phenomena fre-quently found empirically. It may beregarded as a probabilistic inventory.

ii.ii. Non-essential Characteristicsof Religion

The foregoing inventory is set forth interms of considerably abstract generaliza-tion, but actual religions are historical enti-ties, not logical constructs. They encom-pass widely different organizing principles,codes of conduct and patterns of belief. Atmany points, generalization is not easy, andonce the (often unconscious) prejudices ofthe Christian tradition are set aside, itbecomes apparent that many of the con-crete items which, on the basis of theChristian model, might be supposed to bethe sine qua non of religion, are, in fact, notfound in other systems. In the foregoinginventory, allusion to a supreme being isavoided, since for Theravada Buddhists(and for many Mahayana Buddhists), Jainsand Taoists that concept has no validity.Worship, referred to above, has very differ-ent implications in Buddhism from thosewhich it carries for worshippers inChristianity. The inventory makes no ref-erence to creeds, which are of peculiarimportance in the Christian tradition, butare not of such importance in other reli-gions. It does not mention the soul, vital asis that concept in orthodox Christianity,because the doctrine of the soul is some-what dubious in Judaism, and is explicitlydenied by some Christian movements(e.g., the Seventh-day Adventists andJehovah’s Witnesses — each of which

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bodies has millions of adherents through-out the world, and by Christadelphians andthose Puritans, including Milton, who wereknown as moralists). There is no direct ref-erence to hell in any sense of the ideadeveloped in Christianity, since this item islacking in Judaism. The afterlife is alludedto in the singular or the plural to accom-modate the two variant Christian ideas oftransmigration of the soul and of the resur-rection, and the somewhat differentaccounts of reincarnation in Buddhism andHinduism. None of these specific items canbe considered essential to the definition ofreligion.

iii. SCIENTOLOGY BRIEFLYDELINEATED

iii.i. The Church of Scientologyas a New Religion

Scientology is one of a number of newreligious movements which embrace features which correspond in certainrespects to some of the trends evident inthe mainstream of Western religion. Itemploys language which is contemporary,colloquial and unmystical; and it presentsits dogmas as matters of objective fact. Itsconception of salvation has both a proxi-mate and an ultimate dimension. Thewide appeal which it has commandedamong the public of the advanced coun-tries of the Western world has made it afocus of attention among sociologists andother students of contemporary religion.

iii.ii. My Knowledge of Scientology

I began to read the literature produced bythe Church of Scientology in 1968, and atone time even projected a study of the move-ment. Although I did not finally undertake

that work, I continued to read Scientologyliterature. I have visited the Church’s head-quarters at Saint Hill Manor, East Grinsteadand became acquainted with Scientologists.Since that time I have maintained contactwith the movement in Britain, and havepaid other visits to Saint Hill Manor and toa Scientology church in London. I have con-tinued to take a close interest in the devel-opment of the religion as one among a num-ber of contemporary religions which areobjects of interest to me as a sociologist. Ihave read, among other material of a moreephemeral nature, the following works, all ofthem official publications, and most of themthe writings of L. Ron Hubbard:

Scientology Handbook for Preclears Scientology 8-80 Scientology 8-8008 The Book Introducing the E-Meter Dianetics: The Original Thesis Dianetics: The Modern Science

of Mental Health A Test of Whole Track Recall The Problems of Work Self-Analysis The Creation of Human Ability The Phoenix Lectures The Axioms of Scientology Advanced Procedure and Axioms Scientology: A New Slant on Life The Character of Scientology Ceremonies of the Founding

Church of Scientology The Scientology Religion Science of Survival Introduction to Scientology Ethics The Way to Happiness Description of the Scientology Religion What is Scientology? The Scientology Handbook

In works that I have written on newreligions, I have referred to Scientology onvarious occasions, and included a short

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account of this religion in my book,Religious Sects (London:Weidenfeld, 1970),and a longer discussion of the religiouscharacter of Scientology in my later book,The Social Dimensions of Sectarianism(Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990). I havemaintained my interest in the movementfor the past twenty-six years.

iii.iii. Dianetics — the Genesisof Scientology

When, in May 1950, Mr. L. Ron Hubbardfirst set out the prospectus of Dianetics, fromwhich Scientology later developed, there wasno suggestion that he was putting forward apattern of religious belief and practice.Dianetics, an abreaction therapy, was not setforth in the language of faith. There is no rea-son to suppose that, at that time, Hubbardenvisaged that Dianetics would become a sys-tem of religious belief and practice, or thathis following would come to describe andorganize itself as a Church.

iii.iv. Mental Healing and Religion

Therapeutic practice, however, has oftenmanifested a potential for acquiring metaphys-ical and religious affiliations, as, in differentways, may be seen from Christian Science, theNew Thought movement, and yoga tech-niques. On the other side, established religionshave at times developed specialist activitiesconcerned with healing, particularly mentalhealing, and major churches sometimes havedepartments organized for this purpose.Dianetics invoked no religious principles atthe outset, but as the theoretical legitimationfor practice became elaborated, a metaphysicaldimension was increasingly recognized andsome of the ideas propounded came to bedescribed in terms that were distinctly reli-gious in their implication.

iii.v. How Religions Evolve

All religions are a product of evolu-tion. No religion has come into being as afully-fledged system of belief and practiceat a given moment of time. In this,Scientology is no exception: from a bodyof therapeutic theory a religion developed.It would be quite impossible to say whenChristianity itself became a religion,beginning, as it did, with a loose collectionof ethical exhortations and occasionalmiracles; becoming a popular movementamong Galileans; gradually becoming aJewish sect; and then becoming a distinctreligion. Even then, it took centuries forits doctrines to be fully articulated, and itsritual practice has continued to undergofrequent change. In movements of morerecent times, the process of evolution intoa religion is yet more clearly evident. TheSeventh-Day Adventist Church traces itsorigins to the widely diffused belief in thevery early advent of Jesus Christ whichoccurred among Baptists, Presbyterians,Methodists and others in upstate NewYork in the 1830s: the Church was formedonly in 1860. Similarly, it took severaldecades after the first experience (of theFox Sisters) of the “rappings” atHydesville (purportedly messages fromthe “spirit world”) before a Spiritualistchurch was formed. Similarly, Mary BakerEddy had experimented for years with sys-tems of mental healing before her “dis-covery” of her mind-cure in 1866, andeven for some years after that date shethought her system would be taken intothe major churches rather than becomingthe basis for the Church of Christ,Scientist, which she founded in 1875. ThePentecostalists experienced the charismataof speech in unknown tongues, prophesy-ing, healings and other “gifts” from the year1900, but separate Pentecostal churchesformed only very slowly in the course of

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the next two decades. None of thesemovements, all of which became sepa-rate religions, started as such. Neitherdid Scientology.

iii.vi. Scientology Doctrine — the Development of the Metaphysic

It is necessary, even at the cost ofsome possible repetition in what fol-lows, to set out in broad terms a com-prehensive statement of the majorteachings of Scientology, and to indi-cate the extent to which these tenets ofbelief constitute a coherent religioussystem. Scientology grew out of a morenarrowly focused therapeutic system,Dianetics. It has been suggested thatthis term was a combination of dia =“through” and nous = “mind or soul”,and thus constituted, even if initiallyless than wholly consciously, a religiousperspective. With the incorporation ofDianetics into the wider framework ofScientology, a much more extensiveconception of an encompassing meta-physical system was articulated whichmade evident the fundamentally reli-gious nature of this philosophy. Whilstthe immediate application of Dianeticswas — like that of Christ’s teachingsduring his lifetime — in the sphere ofmental healing, the purport of the sub-sequent teachings, which explainedand promoted that therapeutic activity,implicated a growing apprehension ofspiritual ideas and values.

iii.vii. Scientology Doctrine — the Thetan and the Reactive Mind

The basic postulate of Scientologyis that man is, in fact, a spiritual entity,a thetan which successively occupies

material human bodies. The thetan isan individual expression of theta, bywhich is understood life or the lifesource. Loosely defined, the thetan isthe soul, but it is also the real person,the continuing and persisting identitywhich transcends the body which itinhabits. It is said to be immaterial andimmortal, or at least to have the capac-ity to be immortal, and to have an infi-nite creative potential. It is not part ofthe physical universe — but it has thelatent capacity to control that uni-verse, which is comprised of Matter,Energy, Space and Time (MEST).Thetans are seen as having broughtinto being the material world largelyfor their own pleasure (as indeed mightalso be said of the creation of the worldby the Christian God). It is held that,at sometime long past, thetans becamevictims of their own involvement withMEST, becoming entrapped by it andallowing their own creation to limittheir own abilities and to circumscribetheir sphere of operations. Thus, man’sactivities and achievements in the pre-sent material world fall far short of hispotential: he is encumbered by innu-merable past entanglements withMEST and these are recorded in a reac-tive mind which responds irrationallyand emotionally to anything whichrecalls painful and traumatic past expe-riences (which he has suffered orcaused to others). The reactive mindfunctions in defiance of that capacityfor control which, were he able torecapture his true native spiritual abili-ties, he would be able to exercise overhis body and his environment. Whilstman is regarded as fundamentally good,and both desirous and capable of sur-vival, his past forfeiture of his abilitieshas rendered him an endangeredspecies.

iii.viii. Scientology Doctrine — Reincarnation and Karma

Thetans are believed to have occupiedinnumerable bodies over aeons of time.Thus, Scientology embraces a theorywhich, whilst differing in particulars,shares major assumptions with that theory of reincarnation as maintained in Hinduism and Buddhism. TheScientological emphasis on the impor-tance of present (or future) consequenceof past actions resembles the concept ofkarma. Untoward effects result from“overt acts” (harmful acts) which are anaspect of the entanglement with the mate-rial universe. The ideal for the thetan is tomaintain rational action and to be “atcause” over phenomena: that is to say, todetermine the course of events in theimmediate environment. This idea hasclear analogies with the Eastern conceptof creating good karma for the future bywholesome deeds, although Scientologistsdo not use these terms or concepts. Theevents of past lives affect the present, but,by the techniques developed inScientology, these events can be recalled,confronted, and the specific sources ofpresent problems can be located in thoseevents. It is this facility which providesthe basis for spiritual healing — that is, itprovides the opportunity for altering the“karmatic” effects of past actions.

iii.ix. Scientology Doctrine — the Eight Dynamics

Existence, according to Scientology,may be recognized in eight different divisions in an ascending order of magni-tude, each being designated as a dynamic.Briefly described these are: 1st, the selfdynamic, the urge of the self for existence;2nd, the sex dynamic, which incorporates

both the sexual act and the family unitand the maintenance of the family; 3rd,the will to existence, which is found in agroup or an association, such as theschool, the town, or the nation; 4th, thedynamic will of mankind to maintain itsexistence; 5th, the existence and will tosurvive of the entire animal kingdom,which includes all living entities; 6th, theurge towards existence of the entire physical universe of matter, energy, spaceand time; 7th, “the urge towards existenceas or of spirits”, which includes all spiritu-al phenomena, with or without identity;and finally, the 8th dynamic: the urgetowards existence as infinity. This dynam-ic is identified as the Supreme Being,which also can be called the “Goddynamic”. Scientology is concerned withsurvival, and the survival of each of thesedynamics is seen as part of the goal of thepractice of Scientology. Thus althoughmuch of the initial practice ofScientology is concerned more narrowlywith more personal spiritual benefits forthose (preclears) who seek Scientologicalassistance, ultimately the Scientologistmust realize that his present life is but afragment of his continuing existence as athetan, and that the life of the individualis linked to each of these ascending levelsdescribed in the eight dynamics, and soultimately to the existence and survival ofthe Supreme Being or infinity.

iii.x. Scientology Doctrine — Therapy and Communication

As in other religions, the primary andinitial preoccupation of many of thosewho are drawn to Scientology is proxi-mate salvation from immediate sufferingand travail; this is the appeal of the ther-apeutic element which is found in manyreligions — and conspicuously so in early

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Christianity — alongside the more mystical, metaphysical, spiritual teach-ings which believers are expected to cometo as they grow in the faith (see Hebrews,5:12-14). Most Scientologists have firstlearned of the possibility of improvingtheir everyday experience and of enhanc-ing their intelligence (by gaining increas-ing control of the reactive mind). Thepossibility of achieving suchresults, through the process ofauditing, is represented in theformulation known as A-R-C. A stands for Affinity,which represents the emo-tional experience of the indi-vidual and his sense of rela-tionship to others throughthe emotions. R stands forReality, which is representedas inter-subjective consensusabout objective phenomena.C stands for Communication,and great importance isattached in Scientology tocommunication. When people have anaffinity, when they agree about the natureof objective phenomena, then communi-cation can occur very readily. Associatedwith this triadic concept of A-R-C, is thescale of human emotions, known toScientologists as the “tone scale”. Asemotional tone descends, so communica-tion becomes difficult, and realitybecomes badly experienced. Communi-cation itself is, however, an agency whichseeks to increase understanding and,effectively and precisely used, it becomesthe main therapeutic agency for releasingthe individual from the entrapment hehas experienced with the material world.The thetan can be enabled to communi-cate with its own past, recognize thenature of past traumatic experiences, andattain self-knowledge which permits himto escape from these encumbrances.

iii.xi. Scientology Doctrine —Auditing as an Agency of Therapy

The Tone Scale is the first represen-tation to the individual of the possibilityof benefit from Scientology, indicatingan ascent from chronic emotional tone,such as apathy, grief, and fear to enthusi-asm (and, at more advanced

levels, to exhilaration andserenity). It is to experiencebenefits of this kind thatmany are first drawn toScientology. The techniquefor such progress is found inauditing, in which a trainedScientologist, by the use ofcarefully controlled ques-tions, brings back to theawareness of the individualepisodes from his own pastwhich have left a traumaticimprint (an “engram”) in hisreactive mind and whichprevent the individual from

behaving rationally. Release from theeffects of these impediments to rationalthinking is thus the process by which anindividual is raised on the “tone scale”,so improving his competencies, but it isalso — and herein lies its fuller religioussignificance — the method by which thethetan might achieve salvation, initiallyby eliminating the aberrations that it suf-fers as a consequence of entanglementwith the material world, and eventuallyby gaining total freedom from the illeffects of the MEST universe.Scientologists refer to this condition asbeing “at cause”. It has clear analogueswith the mode of salvation that is offeredin Eastern religions. Since they, too, seethe individual as encumbered by theeffects of past deeds (karma), the con-ception of salvation which they espouseis also through a process (enlightenment)

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The basicpostulate

of Scientology isthat man is,

in fact,a spiritual entity,a thetan which

successivelyoccupies

material humanbodies.

by which the effect of karma can be bro-ken, liberating the individual. The ulti-mate goal is for the individual, known asan Operating Thetan, to exist outsidethe body, to be in a condition describedas “exterior” to all physicality. Such acondition is one which at least someChristians would acknowledge as thecondition of the saved soul.

iii.xii. Scientology Doctrine — Rational Means for Salvation

The religious philosophy outlinedabove lies behind the practice ofScientology. Hubbard has himselfregarded it as in some ways similar tothe philosophy of Eastern religions. Inparticular, he has cited the Vedas, thehymns of creation which form part ofthe Hindu tradition, as containing aconcept very similar to Scientology’s“Cycle of Action”. The Cycle ofAction is the apparent order of lifefrom birth, through growth, to decayand death, but through the knowledgewhich Scientology makes available,the baleful effects of the operation ofthis cycle might be avoided. The cyclecan be amended from one of creation,survival and destruction, to one inwhich all elements can be creativeacts: Scientology is committed to pro-moting and increasing creativity andconquering chaos and negativity. Itrecognizes a continuing “track” or lineof descent of wisdom from the Vedasand Gautama Buddha to the Christianmessage, and claims some affinity withthe teachings of all of these. Butwhereas the wisdom presented, forexample in Buddhism, perhaps allowedoccasional individuals to attain salva-tion in one lifetime, there was, then,no set of precise practices which

ensured that result; there was littlepossibility of replication. The attain-ment of salvation remained subject torandom or uncontrolled factors.Salvation was attained by a few, hereand there, now and then, if at all.What Hubbard claimed to do was tostandardize, almost to routinize, reli-gious practice, and to increase the pre-dictability of soteriological results.Such application of technical methodsto spiritual goals indicates the extentto which Scientology adopts moderntechniques for the realisation of goalsthat were once reached only spasmod-ically and occasionally, if at all. This,then, is the attempt to introduce cer-tainty and order into spiritual exercisesand attainments. Scientology seeks todiscipline and order the religious questby the employment of rational proce-dures. In this sense, it has done in thetechnological age much of whatMethodism sought to do at an earlierstage of social development, by tryingto persuade people that the goal of sal-vation was to be sought in a controlled,disciplined, methodical way. Whilstthe actual methods of the Methodistswere still couched in the relativelyconventional language of currentChristianity, the methods advocated byScientology bear the strong imprint ofa society more fully committed to ratio-nal and technological procedures. Themeans which Scientology employshave been likened to the upaya (“rightmethod”) of the seventh stage of theBodhisattva Way to salvation inMahayana Buddhism. According tothis version of Buddhism, at the sev-enth stage, the believer becomes atranscendental Bodhisattva who (likethe Operating Thetan in Scientology)is no longer tied to a physical body.

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iii.xiii. Scientology Doctrine — Auditing as Pastoral Counsel

The means which Scientologyemploys constitutes a form of pastoralcounselling, most specifically organizedinto the techniques of auditing (fromLatin audire, to listen). The specifictechniques and apparatus of auditing areorganized as a technology which consti-tutes the core part of Scientological reli-gious practice. This pattern of practice isessential for all who would experiencethe saving benefits of the faith, andHubbard’s effort has been to reduce theprocess of spiritual enlightenment to aset of ordered procedures which system-atically reach deeper levels of conscious-ness. This method, like that of affirma-tion in Christian Science, is claimed toeliminate both the sense of sin and theeffects of past suffering and wrongdoing.

iii.xiv. Scientology Doctrine — Stages of Salvation

The two principal stages in this heal-ing and soteriological process are theconditions described respectively asClear and Operating Thetan. The pre-clear who first encounters Scientology istroubled by the mental impedimenta ofpast painful and emotional experiences.Auditing seeks to bring these items toconsciousness, to make the individualcommunicate with his past, to confrontthose events which have given rise toemotional discharge, and thereby tobring the individual to a point at whichhe transcends that discharge and canreview these hitherto forgotten distur-bances with total equanimity and rational awareness. The baleful effects ofsuch items are thereby dissipated.

Mental blocks, feelings of guilt andinadequacy, fixation with past traumasor incidental occasions of emotionalupset are overcome. The individual isbrought up “to present time”, that is, heis freed from the disabling effects ofevents that have occurred on the “timetrack” of the thetan’s earlier present lifeor past lives. By improving communica-tion, auditing brings the thetan into acondition where past hindrances havebeen eliminated. He is defined as aClear, a being who no longer has hisown reactive mind, who is self-deter-mined, at least with respect to his ownbeing. The Operating Thetan is at ahigher level of the same process, sincehe has also acquired control over hisenvironment. He is no longer depen-dent on the body which, for the timebeing, he occupies: he is said, indeed, tobe no longer in a body. In other words, itmight be said that the OperatingThetan is a being who has realized hisfull spiritual potential, who has achievedsalvation. The current work, What isScientology? (p. 222, 1992 edition)affirms “at the level of OperatingThetan one deals with the individual’sown immortality as a spiritual being.One deals with the thetan himself inrelation to eternity... there are stateshigher than that of mortal man”.

iii.xv. Religious Rolesin Scientology — the Auditor

Religious ministrations are available inScientology through four related agents,whose roles both complement each otherand to some extent overlap. These func-tionaries are the auditor, the case supervisor,the course supervisor, and the chaplain.The auditor’s role is fundamental:

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auditing is the vital technique for theacquisition ultimately of that form ofenlightenment by which the individual issaved. The auditor is trained in skills withwhich he helps others, and helps them tohelp themselves. “All Scientology audi-tors are required to become ordained min-isters” [What is Scientology? p. 557, 1992edition] and every auditor hastaken training courses whichfit him for ministry, eventhough he might not actuallytake up that role. The auditorlearns to deal with the pre-clear who seeks his help asneutrally and clinically aspossible. Unlike the confes-sor in the Roman CatholicChurch, the auditor does notproceed according to his ownspiritual apprehensions andon his own personal assess-ment of the preclear’s needs;rather, he follows in detailthe prescribed procedures. The wholethrust of Scientology is towards the elim-ination of incidental, adventitious, andidiosyncratic elements from its therapeu-tic and spiritual ministrations. Everyeffort is made to ensure that auditor emo-tion does not disturb the standardizedprocedures and techniques of auditing.Pastoral counselling is thus seen, particu-larly in the auditing situation per se, as amuch more exact technique than it hasgenerally been considered in convention-al churches, and much greater and moreprecise attention is paid to it. ForScientologists, pastoral counselling is notthe purveyance of random advice given atthe personal discretion or variable com-petence of one individual to another, buta systematic and controlled endeavour topromote self-enlightenment and spiritualknowledge.

iii.xvi. Religious Roles in Scientology— the Case Supervisor

Responsibility for the correct applica-tion of auditing procedures lies with thecase supervisor. One of the case supervi-sor’s most important functions is to reviewcarefully the notes the auditor has taken of

the auditing session in ques-tion. These notes are highlytechnical, incomprehensibleexcept to a trained auditor —and consist of notations con-cerning the auditing proce-dures applied, the responsesindicated by the E-Meter andhow the preclear fared. Thenotes must be sufficientlycomplete to show that thepreclear’s spiritual progress isin accordance with the soteri-ology of Scientology. The casesupervisor is able to under-stand these technical notes

since he himself is a highly trained auditorwho has undergone additional specialisedtraining as a case supervisor. He checksthat the auditing has conformed to pre-scribed standards, the techniques havebeen correctly applied, and that the pre-clear is making appropriate progress.Should any error have occurred in auditingthe case supervisor detects and corrects it.He may require an erring auditor to re-study the misapplied materials and practisethe correct procedure to ensure that errorsare not repeated. After each session hespecifies the next stage of auditing. Sincepeople differ, each case is reviewed indi-vidually to determine the appropriateprocesses to be applied and to ensure thatthe preclear is making due spiritualprogress. The case supervisor’s role thusensures that Scientology auditing is properly conducted and controlled.

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ForScientologists,

pastoralcounseling is…

a systematic andcontrolled

endeavour topromote

self-enlightenmentand spiritualknowledge.

iii.xvii. Religious Roles in Scientology— the Course Supervisor

The course supervisor is even more fun-damental to the practice of Scientologythan the auditor. It is the course supervisorwho trains auditors to the exacting stan-dards set forth by Hubbard. The coursesupervisor is an expert in the techniques ofstudy developed by Hubbard. He is trainedto identify any obstacles to understandingand to resolve any difficulties that the stu-dent of Scientological literature mightencounter. The course supervisor ensuresthat a Scientology student graspsScientology theory and by practising drillsand exercises, masters its application.Unlike other classroom supervisors, thecourse supervisor does not lecture, nor doeshe in any way offer his own interpretationof the subject. This point is importantbecause Scientologists believe that theresults obtained in Scientology come onlyfrom closely following Scientology scrip-ture exactly as written by Hubbard. Verbalexpositions passed on from teacher to student would, no matter how uninten-tional, inevitably involve alteration of theoriginal material. Thus, the course supervi-sor is necessarily an expert in recognisingthe situation when a student encounters aproblem, and in directing him to the placewhere, by his own endeavours, he can findits resolution.

iii.xviii. Religious Rolesin Scientology — the Chaplain

Scientology churches and missionseach have a chaplain. He is a trained auditor, and the ministerial course is anessential part of his training. That coursepresents Scientology as a religion, as an agency by which men may attain

salvation. It includes an introduction tothe teachings of the world’s great religions;training in conducting services and cere-monies; study of the Creed and codes ofScientology; and instruction in ethics andauditing technology. Perhaps the majoraspect of the chaplain’s role is that of pas-toral counselling, not in the general sensein which such counselling is provided inthe course of auditing, but rather in themore diffuse sense, in listening to problems and difficulties encountered byScientologists in mastering the teachingsand techniques of the faith. Chaplainsseek to smooth organizational operations,and, if called upon, seek to interpret moraland even family matters in accordancewith Scientological principles. In theirfunctioning within a particular Scientologyorganisation, they act much as does a bishop’s chaplain in the establishedchurch. The chaplain serves as celebrantin the rites of passage performed in theChurch (naming, wedding and funeralrites). In weekly services (held, for generalconvenience, on Sundays), the chaplainorders the service, about which he exercis-es some general discretion. Within theservice, he also fulfils a preaching role,much like that of a Nonconformist minis-ter, and here his function is as an expositor(rather than as an orator). His discourse isalways closely concerned with the teach-ings and application of the principles ofthe faith.

iii.xix. Technical Means to SpiritualGoals — a Religion not a Science

To understand the operation ofScientology and of its religious profession-als, it is necessary to recognise thatScientology conjoins technical means tospiritual goals. Its emphasis on technique,

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its use of technical language, and its insis-tence on systematic procedure anddetailed order should not obscure the spir-itual and soteriological nature of its ulti-mate concerns. Scientology is a religionthat emerged in a period dominated byscience; its methods bear the imprint ofthe age in which it came into being. Partof its fundamental commitment is to theidea that man needs to think rationally,and to control his own powerful but dis-turbing emotions. Only in this way willman attain the complete free-will and self-determination which Scientologistsbelieve is his right and his necessity. Toattain salvation, the individual must makea consistent and stable application of well-articulated formulae. Like ChristianScience, Scientology seeks to deal in cer-tainties. Scientology’s ultimate goals wouldseem to transcend empirical proof, and thebeliefs of its followers are transcendental,metaphysical, and spiritual even thoughthe religion emphasizes personal experi-ence as the route to personal conviction orcertainty. The scientific style ofScientological discourse does not derogatefrom its religious status and concerns.

iv. A SOCIOLOGICALANALYSIS OF THEEVOLUTION OF THE CHURCHOF SCIENTOLOGY

iv.i. The Evolution of ScientologicalIdeas — Past Lives

From mid-1950, Hubbard had alreadyperceived that past lives might be ofimportance in explaining man’s prob-lems. The foundation that he set up inElizabeth, New Jersey, was devoting itselfat that time to a study of possible bene-fits of “recalling” “the circumstances of

deaths in previous incarnations” [JosephA. Winter, A Doctor’s Report onDianetics: Theory and Therapy, New York:1951, p. 189]. This interest developedinto a positive commitment to the viewthat deleterious experiences in past lives(as well as in early life) created“engrams” (impressions or mental imagepictures which form the reactive mind,which are associated with pain andunconsciousness, and which cause ill-nesses, inhibitions and hence irrationalbehaviour). Dianetics and Scientologyhad thus to be extended to eliminatethese engrams as well as those created byearly experiences in the individual’s pre-sent life.

iv.ii. The Evolution of ScientologicalIdeas — From Dianetics toScientology

This disruption of mental life wasexpressed, at another level, as theta, theuniverse of thought, having become“enturbulated” by MEST. Auditing wasintended to free theta from this encum-brance. The concept of theta also under-went refinement in 1951, being recog-nized as “life-force, elan vital, the spirit,the soul” [in Science of Survival, I, p. 4].At this point, Hubbard’s belief systemmay be said to have become a system forthe cure of souls. This developmentbecame more explicit when, in 1952,Hubbard launched Scientology, and thisnew, expanded, and more encompassingbelief-system subsumed Dianetics, pro-viding it with a more fully-articulatedmetaphysical rationale. Theta nowbecame the thetan, a more explicit analogue of the soul, and the religiousdimension of the system now becameexplicit. The thetan was perceived as theessential identity of the individual, the

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person himself (that which is aware ofbeing aware) and the Scientological the-ory now provided the metaphysical justi-fication for the soteriological task of free-ing the thetan from the ill-effects of pre-vious lives (previous occupations ofhuman bodies).

iv.iii. The Evolution of ScientologicalIdeas — Thetan and Body

The individual cannot talk about“my thetan” since in essence the individ-ual is the thetan occupying a body; inthis sense, the thetan is seen as evenmore important than the soul in conven-tional Christian interpretation. Thethetan enters a body (at, after, or evenbefore birth) seeking identity. In thissense, Scientology has some similarity tothe concepts embraced in the Buddhisttheory of reincarnation. Hubbard is,however, more definite and precise in hischaracterisation of the reallocation ofthetans to bodies than anything found inBuddhist scriptures.

iv.iv. Proximateand Ultimate Salvation

The initial goal of Scientology audit-ing is to release the thetan from the con-fines of the reactive mind: the ultimategoal is to rehabilitate the thetan so thathe achieves a stable state where he nolonger has a reactive mind. He movesfrom preoccupation with the proximateand immediate goal of his own survival(the 1st dynamic) to an increasinglyexpanded recognition of the possibilitiesof salvation, as he identifies progressive-ly with the family, associations,mankind, the animal world, the universe, spiritual states, and infinity or

God. Thus, the ultimate goal of thethetan working through the eightdynamics is the attainment of some-thing of a god-like condition whichScientologists refer to as “Full OT” or“Native State.”

iv.v. The Soteriology of Scientology

This scheme is in itself a soteriology,a doctrine of salvation. If the final con-dition appears to exceed the salvationnormally posited in Christian religion,that is because soteriologists often dealwith proximate rather than with ulti-mate salvation. Christianity, too, hasconcepts of man as joint-heir withChrist, although the more limitedprospect of the soul finally reachingheaven has frequently satisfied both theChurch and the laity. Even so, in somemovements — Mormonism is one exam-ple — the idea of man attaining the sta-tus of god is explicitly acknowledged.The terms in which salvation is to beaccomplished differ in Scientology, butthe long-term idea of saving the soul iseasily recognized in its teachings. In itspractice, the proximate ends of salvagingthe individual’s sanity, curing his psychicdistress, and helping him to overcomedepression are emphasised, but they arejustified by reference to the soteriologyoutlined above.

iv.vi. Similarities to Buddhismand the Sankhya School

The mechanics of life as characterisedby Scientology have considerable similar-ity to those embraced by both Buddhismand the Sankhya school of Hinduism.The accumulation of a reactive bank in

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the mind bears some similarity to the ideaof karma. The concept of past lives hasmuch in common with the theories ofreincarnation in Eastern religions. Theidea of acquiring access to levels of con-sciousness is found in Yoga (the Yogaschool is closely related to that ofSankhya) and the yogin is believed to beable to attain supernatural power.

iv.vii. Salvation as a Globaland as an Individual Possibility

The ultimate prospect of salvation forthe thetan embraces the idea of survivalfor mankind and the animal and materialuniverses, through the agency ofScientology. This element of concern forsociety and the cosmos certainly exists inScientology. The idea of “clearing theplanet” (producing “Clears” — peoplewho have become entirely clear of thereactive mind) has been put forward as agoal. Hubbard, however, at times, shiftedthe emphasis and wrote, “Scientology isinterested not in saving the world but inmaking able individuals more able byexact technological address to the individ-ual himself, which is the spirit.” [Characterof Scientology, 1968, p. 5]. However, whatmay be being emphasised here is thatworld salvation is itself contingent on thesalvation of individual thetans — a typicalevangelical emphasis.

iv.viii. Morality in Scientology

It is sometimes suggested that it is acharacteristic of religion to prescribe amoral code, though religions vary con-siderably in the extent to which they arecommitted to a specific code of morality.Scientology began with the general goals

of enhancing the individual’s potential.In its emphasis on freedom, it adopted amore permissive approach to moralitythan that expressed by traditionalChristian churches. However, from thevery early exposition of Dianetics,Hubbard made clear that the individualwas responsible for his own limitations,that a thetan was basically good andwould diminish his own power were heto commit further harmful acts. Theemphasis of auditing is also to demandthat the individual should confrontproblems and take responsibility for hisown well-being. He must acknowledgethe “overt acts” (harmful acts) that hehas committed in both his present andhis past lives.

In an important publication, Intro-duction to Scientology Ethics, L. RonHubbard set out the ethical standardsrequired of a Scientologist, and made itclear that a commitment to ethics wasfundamental to the faith. The individual’sgoal is survival — that is, survival on alleight dynamics, from concern for the selfand the family up to concern for the urgetowards existence as infinity, the so-called God dynamic [see paragraphiii.ix]. Survival, as a Scientological con-cept, conforms to the general concern ofall religion — salvation. Ethical action isdeemed to be rational behaviour conducive to that end. Thus Hubbardlaid stress on the individual’s need toapply ethical standards to his conductand to behave rationally if he was toachieve his own salvation and facilitatethat of all mankind. Thus, in ways anal-ogous to the Buddhist’s self-interestedcommitment to good actions as a way ofimproving his future karma, so theScientologist is enjoined to behave ratio-nally — that is, ethically — towards theattainment of survival, for himself and

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for the widening constituenciesembraced by the eight dynamics.Hubbard wrote, “Ethics are the actionsthe individual takes on himself in orderto accomplish optimum survival for him-self and others on all dynamics. Ethicalactions are survival actions. Without ause of ethics we will not survive” [p. 17].Survival is not mere survival.It is rather survival in a felic-itous condition. “Survival ismeasured in pleasure” [p. 32].Thus, as in Christianity, sal-vation entails a state of hap-piness. But “a clean heartand clean hands are the onlyway to achieve happinessand survival” [p. 29]; thus, inpractice, achieving survivaldemands the maintenance ofmoral standards. Hubbardwrote, “As for ideals, as forhonesty, as for one’s love forone’s fellow man, one cannotfind good survival for one orfor many where these things are absent”[p. 23]. Scientology ethics subsumesmoral codes, but goes further in affirmingthe essential rationality of Scientologicalethics, the application of which is seen asthe only way in which the deterioratingcondition of contemporary morality andthe activities of anti-social personalitiescan be redressed and mankind redeemed.

In 1981, Hubbard formulated a set ofmoral precepts, said to be based on com-mon sense. He described the booklet inwhich they were presented as “an indi-vidual work ... not part of any religiousdoctrine” and intended they be widelydisseminated as a solution to the declin-ing moral standards of modern society;however, Scientologists adopted thismoral code as part of the religion. Thiscode echoes in considerable measure

both the Decalogue and other preceptsof Christian morality, expressed in mod-ern language and with the addition ofsocial, functional, and pragmatic justifi-cation for many of the principles that areput forward. The code interdicts murder;theft; untruthfulness; all illegal acts; theinfliction of harm on people of goodwill;

and it enjoins, inter alia,faithfulness to sexual part-ners; respect for parents;assistance to children; tem-perateness; support for justgovernment; fulfilment ofobligations; respect for thereligious beliefs of others;care for health and for theenvironment; industry; andcompetence. It contains, inboth negative and positiveterms, a version of the gold-en rule that is frequently ren-dered in Christian traditionsas: “Do not unto others thatwhich you would not that

others should do unto you.” The bookleturges its readers to present copies to allothers for whose happiness and survivalthe reader is concerned.

iv.ix. The Religious Claimsof Scientology

Despite the various elements describedabove which pertain to religion, Scientologywas not initially claimed as religion. Evenwhen, in 1954, three churches were incor-porated for Scientology (with somewhatdifferent titles), the religious implicationsof Scientology were still not fully explored.However, Hubbard affirmed thatScientology had religious aims. He wrote“Scientology has accomplished the goal ofreligion expressed in Man’s written history,

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Survival, as aScientological

concept, conformsto the general concern of all religion —

salvation. Ethicalaction is deemedto be rational

behaviour con-ducive to that end.

the freeing of the soul by wisdom. It is a farmore intellectual religion than that knownto the West as late as 1950. If we, withouttherapy, simply taught our truths we wouldbring civilisation to a barbaric West”[Creation of Human Ability, 1954, 1968,p.180]. Certainly, Hubbard regardedChristianity as in some respects lessadvanced than Buddhism, referring to theChristian day of judgment as “... a barbaricinterpretation of what Gautama Buddhawas talking about, the emancipation of thesoul from the cycle of births and deaths”[Phoenix Lectures, 1968, pp. 29-30].Scientology itself was a religion “in the old-est and fullest sense” [ibid, p. 35]. In TheCharacter of Scientology, 1968, Hubbardreiterated some of these earlier points, and claimed that the background ofScientology included the Vedas, the Tao,Buddha, the Hebrews and Jesus, as well as anumber of philosophers. Scientology had“brought the first religious technology toovercome the overwhelming backlog ofspiritual neglect” [p. 10], and this he saw ascombining the honesty and precision ofthe Gautama Buddha with the urgent pro-ductive practicality of Henry Ford [p. 12].He saw the auditor as someone trained inauditing technology, and Scientologicaltraining as religious education.

iv.x. L. Ron Hubbardas Religious Leader

The claim is often made (by their fol-lowers if not by themselves) that thefounders of religious movements are spe-cial agents of revelation through whom asupreme being expresses himself. Thisprophetic mode of religious leadership ischaracteristic of movements in the gener-al Judaeo-Christian-Islamic tradition, butin the Hindu-Buddhist tradition, the

religious leader is more typically seen as amaster who benefits his followers by indi-cating to them the path to enlightenmentwhich he has himself trodden. Hubbardconforms much more fully to this lattermodel. He is represented as a teacherwho, rather than having had religioustruths revealed to him, is said to have dis-covered by scientific research facts whichindicate certain therapeutic practices anda metaphysical body of knowledge whichexplains man’s higher being and ultimatedestiny. Contemporary Scientologicalworks build up an image of Hubbard, whois readily described as a genius, very muchin the style of eulogistic biographies pro-duced to enhance the reputation andacclaim the unique experience ofprophets, gurus, and founders of religiousmovements [for example, What IsScientology? pp. 83-137]. In the Christiantradition, religious leaders whose rolesand acclaimed reputations have mostclosely approximated that of Hubbard inScientology are Mary Baker Eddy, founderof Christian Science, and the leaders ofthe various New Thought movements ofthe late nineteenth and early twentiethcenturies.

iv.xi. Religion and ChurchOrganization

It is not by any means necessary for areligion or a religious system to organizeas a church. The spiritual elementswithin the Scientological scheme werein evidence before the movement regis-tered church organizations, and theseelements, taken together, certainly jus-tify the designation of the belief systemof Scientology as a religion. But even ifthe organisation as a church were thecriterion of a religion, Scientology

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meets this test. The Church was incor-porated and a creed was promulgated inthe 1950s, and the form of certainceremonies was prescribed. The Creedand the ceremonies formalised institu-tionally the commitments implicit inthe belief system of Scientology. Theecclesiastical structure of Scientology ishierarchical, reflecting the graduatedsystem of learning and spiritual enlight-enment required to master its teachings.Lower-order organisations are conductedas missions conceived as evangelistic agencies. The lower-echelon churchesundertake what may be designated aselementary training of ministers leadingtowards ordination, and serve local congregations of “parish” members.This tier of church organisation consti-tutes the core of the system. Above thislevel there are higher church organisa-tional echelons engaged in advancedauditor training and auditing. The high-er level organisations provide guidancefor lower-level institutions. Analogousto this structure, the Church has devel-oped a volunteer ministry of lay peoplewho undergo training for social andcommunity work. The ministry itself ishierarchically organised, each gradebeing marked by the completion of cer-tificated training courses. At the lowerlevels of qualification, the volunteerministers undertake, inter alia, prisonand hospital visiting, while higher levelministers seek, where numbers warrantit, to bring into being congregations ofScientologists. The formal overallecclesiastical structure bears someresemblance to that of Christiandenominations, different as teachingand practices may be. The volunteerministry has some loose parallels withthe lay diaconate of the Anglican andother churches.

iv.xii. The Creed of Scientology

In a work, Ceremonies of the FoundingChurch of Scientology, 1966, it wasexplained that “in a Scientology churchservice, we do not use prayers, attitudes ofpiety, or threats of damnation. We use thefacts, the truths, the understandings thathave been discovered in the science ofScientology” [p. 7]. The Creed of theChurch of Scientology devotes muchattention to human rights. It affirms thebelief that men were created equal, andhave rights to their own religious practicesand performances; to their own lives, sanity, defence and to “conceive, chooseand assist or support their own organisa-tions, churches, and governments,” and “tothink freely, to talk freely, to write freelytheir own opinions....” It also affirms thebelief that “the study of the mind and thehealing of mentally caused ills should notbe alienated from religion or condoned innon-religious fields.” It is maintained “thatman is basically good; that he is seeking to survive; that his survivaldepends upon himself and upon his fellows; and his attainment of brotherhoodwith the universe.” It is also affirmed that“... we of the Church believe that the lawsof God forbid Man to destroy his own kind;to destroy the sanity of another; to destroyor enslave another’s soul; to destroy orreduce the survival of one’s companions orone’s group. And we of the Church believethat the spirit can be saved and that thespirit alone may save or heal the body.”

iv.xiii. Scientology Ceremonies

The wedding and funeral cere-monies prescribed for the Church,whilst somewhat unconventional, donot depart radically from the general

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practice of Western society. The christening ceremony, referred to as a“naming ceremony” is more explicitlycommitted to the principles of theScientological belief-system. Its purposeis to assist the thetan who has recentlycome to acquire this particular body. Atthe time of his acquisition of a newbody, the thetan is believed to beunaware of his identity, and this namingceremony is a way of helping the thetanto learn the identity of his new body, ofthe parents of that body, and the god-parents who will assist the new being.This ceremony is, therefore, a type oforientation process, fully in accordancewith Scientological metaphysics.

v. CONCEPTIONS OF WORSHIPAND SALVATION

v.i. Worship— a Changing Concept

Theistic religions — traditional Christ-ianity among them — attach importanceto worship, which constitutes formalizedexpression of reverence and veneration ofa deity, humility, submission to that deity,prayer (communication with the deity),proclamations in his praise, and thanksgiv-ing for his benefits. (Older conceptions ofworship also involve sacrifice — animal orhuman — and acts of propitiation of avengeful or jealous deity. But concepts ofworship have changed, and older forms ofworship, once regarded as indispensable,would now be regarded as against the law.The idea of worship is changing in ourown times, both within the traditionalchurches and among new movements.)The traditional conception of worship isgenerally associated with the postulationof a deity (or deities) or a personage who is

the object of worshipful attitudes andactions. This definition of worship, whichaccords with those employed in recentcourt cases in England, is narrowly basedon the model of historic Judaeo-Christian-Islamic practice. As empirical evidencemakes clear, however, worship in this sensedoes not occur in all religions, and where itoccurs it manifests significant variations,some of which are instanced below.

v.ii. Variations in Worship— Theravada Buddhism

First: Theravada Buddhism — in itspure form — and some other religionsposit, not a supreme deity, but an ultimatelaw or principle which neither demandsnor depends upon the reverence, praise,or worship of believers. It is generallyaccepted that a deity is not a sine qua nonof religion, thus — if the concept is to beretained — a definition of worship broader than that prescribed in theChristian tradition must be adopted.

v.iii. Variations in Worship— Nichiren Buddhism

Second: There are religious move-ments, found for example in NichirenBuddhism, which deny supreme beings butwhich require the worship of an object.The Soka Gakkai Buddhists, a movementwhich has about 15 million adherents, withabout six thousand in Britain, worships theGohonzon, a mandala on which isinscribed the vital symbols or formulae ofultimate truth. In worshipping theGohonzon, these Buddhists expectbenisons from it. Thus, something resem-bling the concept of worship as understoodin Christian contexts may occur evenwhen a supreme being is explicitly denied.

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v.iv. Variations in Worship— Quakers

Third: Even within the broadChristian tradition, attitudes of rever-ence and humility need not imply specif-ic forms of behaviour such as are to beobserved in Orthodox, Roman Catholicor High Church Anglican services, inwhich believers may bow, kneel or pros-trate themselves, pronounce words ofpraise, thanksgiving, blessing, and seek,by supplication, blessings in return.Within Christianity there are manymovements which follow different prac-tices: The Quakers provide a cogentexample. Quakers meet in a spirit of rev-erence, but do not engage in formal actsof worship such as set or spoken prayers,the singing of hymns or chanting ofpsalms: often they conduct their entiremeeting in silence.

v.v. Variations in Worship— Christian Science

Fourth: Within Christianity, there hasbeen a tendency both within the old-established churches and in a variety ofrelatively recently arisen groups for theidea of God to be expressed in increasing-ly abstract terms. Since some major mod-ern theologians have re-defined concep-tions of God, often eliminating the idea ofGod as a person (see above, paragraphiv.iii) older conceptions of worship appearto some to be anachronistic. Opinionpolls reveal that a steadily increasing pro-portion of those who believe in God nonethe less do not believe that God is a per-son, they aver rather that God is a force.In newly arisen religious movements,there are sometimes forms of “worship”adapted to these more modern, abstract

apprehensions of deity. One example isChristian Science. Since that movement,which pre-dates Scientology by over sev-enty years, has many characteristics incommon with Scientology, and sinceChristian Science has long been recog-nised as a religion, the attitude to worshipin that movement is explored more fully.In Christian Science, God is defined as“Principle,” “Life,” “Truth,” “Love,”“Mind,” “Spirit,” “Soul.” These imperson-al abstractions do not require manifesta-tions of submission and veneration, andsuch dispositions are accorded only limit-ed expression in Christian Science churchservices. The opinions of Mary BakerEddy (founder of Christian Science) onworship are represented in these quota-tions from her textbook, Science andHealth with Key to the Scriptures:

Audible prayers can never do theworks of spiritual understanding ....Long prayers, superstitions, andcreeds, clip the strong pinions of loveand clothe religion in human forms.Whatever materializes worship hin-ders man’s spiritual growth and keepshim from demonstrating his powerover error. [pp. 4-5]

Dost thou ‘Love thy Lord Godwith all thy heart, and with all thysoul and with all thy mind’? Thiscommand includes much, even thesurrender of all merely material sensa-tion, affection, and worship. [p. 9]

Jesus’ history made a new calen-dar, which we call the Christian era;but he established no ritualistic wor-ship.” [p. 20]

It is sad that the phrase divine ser-vice has come so generally to meanpublic worship instead of daily deeds.[p. 40]

We worship spiritually only as wecease to worship materially. Spiritual

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devoutness is the soul of Christianity.Worshipping through the medium ofmatter is paganism. Judaic and otherrituals are the types and shadows oftrue worship.” [p. 140]

The Israelites centered theirthought on the material in theirattempted worship of the spiritual. Tothem matter was a substance andSpirit was shadow. They thought toworship Spirit from a material stand-point, but this was impossible. Theymight appeal to Jehovah but theirprayer brought down no proof that itwas heard because they did not suffi-ciently understand God to be able todemonstrate his power to heal. [p. 351]

Although Christian Scientists use theLord’s Prayer congregationally, thatprayer is translated into a number of affir-mations in accordance with Eddy’s teach-ings. Silent prayer in Christian Science isaffirmation of “truths” not supplication,God is a “Principle” to be demonstrated,not a “Being” to be placated or propitiat-ed. Hence worship in Christian Scienceis different in form, mood and expressionfrom worship in traditional churches.

v.vi. Worship Defined by ItsObjectives, not by Its Forms

The foregoing comments on the vari-ations in worship indicate the need — ifall the appropriate empirical evidence isto be taken into account — for a muchbroader definition of worship than thatwhich is confined to, and dependentupon, the assumptions of one specific tra-dition. The forms traditional in Christianchurches do not exhaust all the variantmodes in which worship can and doesoccur (even within Christian churches).

A distinction must be made between theexternal forms of worship (which may beparticular, local, regional, or national)and the aims of worship, which we mayrepresent as universal. The aim of worshipis to establish rapport between the votaryand the supernatural ultimate (being,object, law, principle, dimension, “groundof being,” or “concern”) in whatever waythat ultimate is conceived by the religiousbody to which the votary belongs, with aview to his ultimate attainment of salva-tion or enlightenment. To emphasise thatthe defining characteristic of worship liesin its purpose makes apparent the culturalrelativity of the various forms that worship assumes. Once worship is definedby reference to its objectives, we can comprehend diverse conceptions of theultimate, extending from idols to tran-scendental laws. Thus, an idol is worshipped as a despotic entity who con-fers favours or inflicts injuries; the worshipof an anthropomorphic deity emphasizesrather a relationship, of trust, but also ofdependence; worship of more sophisticat-ed conceptions of a supreme being placesless emphasis on the emotional volatilityof the deity, and stresses the search forharmony of dispositions in accordancewith more general ethical principles; worship of an entirely abstract ultimateverity, law, or dimension, tends to be con-cerned with the diffusion of knowledge,the attainment of enlightenment, and therealisation of full human potential. All ofthese variously specified goals may beseen as part of man’s search for salvation,however differently salvation itself maybe conceived. Reverence for the ultimate,for man’s “ground of being,” howeverdepicted, is a general attribute of therespect and concern for life, which doesnot depend on any specific culture-boundbehavioural forms or norms.

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v.vii. The Declineof the Poetic Mode of Worship

In multi-religious societies, the con-cept of what constitutes worship mustbe stated in abstract terms if the diversi-ty of religion is to be duly acknowl-edged. The recent and continuingtrends in religion aretowards abstract and morereadily universalized expres-sion. This is true not only ofmajor theologians and amongthe clergy, but is also evident among many newreligious movements. In ascientific and technologicalage, men’s conception ofdeity, or of the ultimate,tends to be understood interms which are themselvesmore concordant with sci-entific and technical experi-ence, even though this typeof language and conceptual-ization stands in contrastwith traditional poeticimagery which was oncetypical of religious expres-sion. The poetic mode is steadily aban-doned not only in new movements, butalso in the so-called traditional church-es, as may be seen by the liturgicalreforms in the Roman Catholic Churchsince Vatican II, and in the replacementof the Book of Common Prayer in theChurch of England by more prosaic,vernacular and colloquial forms ofexpression. Outside these churches, inmovements without the obligation toeven vestigial respect for tradition, thecreation of new language and new litur-gical forms has enjoyed even greaterfreedom. Among these movements isScientology.

v.viii. Communicationas Worship

Scientology presents a thoroughlyabstract conception of the Supreme Being,as the Eighth Dynamic. Scientologists seekto expand their awareness and comprehen-sion to embrace all dimensions of being,

with the objective of aiding,and being part of, the survivalof the Supreme Being orInfinity. Scientologists vener-ate life, and recognize God asan ultimate ground of being,but this recognition does notentail specific forms of behav-iour that at all closely approxi-mate those acts that are con-sidered to be “worship” in tra-ditional Christian churches.Scientology is a movementwhich incorporates peoplefrom diverse religious back-grounds; which emphasizesnew conceptions of creation,the meaning of life, and salva-tion; and its teachings draw onmore than one of the greatreligious traditions as well as

on broad scientific orientations. It is there-fore entirely appropriate that Scientologyshould present its theories in abstract anduniversal terms, and its conception of wor-ship accommodates these perspectives.The general position has been expressed asfollows: “In Scientology we worship interms of communication. Who would wor-ship effectively would be he who consid-ered himself capable of reaching the dis-tance to communicate with the SupremeBeing” [Scientology as a Religion, p. 30].

The essence of Scientology is under-standing through communication — com-munication with the thetan’s own past andwith the environment, and in that sense it

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Scientologyis a movement

whichincorporatespeople from

diverse religiousbackgrounds,

whichemphasizes

new conceptionsof creation,the meaning

of life,and salvation.

may be likened to the communication thattakes place in Christian worship, the com-munication which the individual seekswith the deity in prayer and in theeucharistic service, when, indeed, hebehaves, as the traditional churches phraseit, as a “communicant.” The purpose is inlarge part the same — the purification ofthe individual, the rehabilitation of his soulas part of the longer-term process of salva-tion. In Scientology there are two funda-mental forms of such communication —auditing and training. Auditing, occurringas private communication by the individ-ual with his (the thetan’s) past, is mediatedby the auditor and the E-meter, but it isessentially a process of bringing the indi-vidual into better rapport with his true andoriginal self, and in this sense seeks to puthim in contact with a basic spiritual reality.

Training in the Scientology Scripture iscommunication with the fundamentaltruths and ground of existence. Throughincreased understanding the individualseeks greater communication with his basicself, with others and with all life. Theseactivities, too, share elements characteris-tic of worship, even if such aspects as ado-ration (of a deity), antiquated concern forhis propitiation, and the ancient proce-dures of supplication are, in this moderncontext, superseded.

v.ix. The Scientology Goalof Survival

The key term which reveals the purposeof the services that are conducted in aScientology chapel is “survival,” a conceptrecurrently emphasized in Scientologicalliterature. “Survival” is, however, merely amodern synonym for the old religious con-cept, “salvation,” and salvation is the pri-mary objective of worship in all religions,

the establishment of rapport between pow-erful deity and dependent votary whichwill result in the diminution or eliminationof untoward and evil experiences, and themultiplication of benefits culminating inthe final benefit of continuing life.Scientology is concerned with the salva-tion of the thetan, its liberation from theencumbrance of matter, energy, space andtime, and, in the more proximate instance,with its capacity to overcome bodily dis-abilities and the vicissitudes of daily life.The thetan, as the trans-human essence, orsoul, existed before the physical body andhas prospect of surviving it. That survival isultimately linked to the survival of theEighth Dynamic, the Supreme Being, andthe Scientology services of auditing andtraining to enhance the consciousness ofthis ultimate reality. The practice is thus anoccasion for participants to renew and rein-force their recognition of the supernatural.In the wide sense that we have exploredabove, this is an occasion for worship andenlightenment.

v.x. Auditing and Training

The core activities of Scientology areauditing and training. These are the agen-cies of spiritual salvation. Only by thesemeans can the thetan — that is the indi-vidual — be liberated and achieve the spir-itual state of being “at cause” over life andthe material world. Auditing, in which theindividual confronts his own past pain andtraumas, helps him to establish control ofhis life and frees him from the irrationalimpulses of there active mind. Thus, inbeing audited, the preclear may be said tobe embarking on a spiritual quest for salvation, the benefits of which are accre-tive, and which lead ultimately to a condition in which the thetan ceases to be

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“enturbulated” with material conditions(MEST). Such a spiritual quest, with salva-tion as its ultimate end, divergent as may bethe outward forms and doctrinal specifica-tions, is the central overriding concern ofall the world’s advanced religions. Trainingis directed to communicating wisdom toanyone who is seeking enlightenment aswell as to those who engage in helping oth-ers in their endeavour to attain salvation.Implicit in these processes is the demandthat the individual face up to his ownpainful past experiences and overcome thetendency to transfer blame to others for hisown failings. Training to this end isachieved through a series of hierarchicallygraduated courses in which the studentlearns and perfects the techniques of audit-ing which, once the appropriate standard isattained, is believed to be effective in appli-cation to any preclear. Training is organisedas an intensive programme, and anyonewho has witnessed the concentrated dedi-cation of those undergoing training courses,as I have on visits to the Church ofScientology at Saint Hill Manor, could notbut be impressed by the single-mindednessand seriousness of purpose uniformly mani-fested by the students, which is, of course, areligious commitment.

vi. SCIENTOLOGYAND OTHER FAITHS

vi.i. Some Similaritiesof Scientology and Other Faiths

Scientology differs radically from tra-ditional Christian churches and dissent-ing sects in matters of ideology, practice,and organisation. Yet, taking the broadview which, in a multi-cultural andmulti-religious society must prevail, it isevident that in all essentials, Scientology

occupies a position very close to that ofother movements that are indisputablyreligions. Ideologically, it has significantresemblances to the Sankhya school ofHinduism. In its congregational activi-ties, which are, however, far less centralto it than is the case with Nonconformistmovements, there are, none the less,points of emphasis not dissimilar to thoseof some Nonconformist bodies. Its soteri-ological goals are emphatically meta-physical, and resemble in some respectsthose of Christian Science.

vi.ii. Dual Membership

A distinctive feature of Scientology isthat members are not required to abandonother religious beliefs and affiliations ontaking up Scientology. It might be inferredfrom this feature that Scientology content-ed itself with being a merely additional orsupplementary set of beliefs and practices,but such an inference would be unwarrant-ed. I have spoken with senior Church offi-cials as well as individual Scientologists onthis aspect of Scientology and theirresponse was that while exclusivity is notrequired, it comes about as a matter of prac-tice. According to them, as one becomesmore involved with Scientology, oneinevitably discards one’s prior faith. Forexample, my experience is that a Jew whobecomes a Scientologist might remain affil-iated with Judaism for cultural reasons andmight celebrate Jewish holidays with fami-ly and friends, but he or she would notpractise and would not believe in Jewishtheology. From my view as a scholar thisexplanation seems correct. Scientologistsregard their faith as a complete religiondemanding dedication of its members.

Further, while it is a characteristic of theJudaeo-Christian-Muslim tradition that

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religious commitment be exclusive and thatdual or multiple membership is not tolerat-ed, this principle is far from universalamong religions. It is not demanded in mostbranches of Hinduism and Buddhism. TheBuddha did not prohibit the worship oflocal gods. Hinduism is tolerant in respectof plural allegiances. In Japan, large num-bers of people count themselves as bothBuddhists and Shintoists. The symbiosis ofreligions is a well-known phenomenon andin certain respects it has occurred inChristianity (for example, in the toleranceof Spiritualism or Pentecostalism by certainAnglican Bishops, even though thesebelief-systems were not specifically accom-modated by official doctrine). The fact thatScientology adopts a different positionrespecting dual or multiple affiliations fromthat conventionally assumed in westernChristianity is not a valid ground for deny-ing it the status of a religion.

vi.iii. Exoteric and Esoteric Elementsof Scientology

The public image of Scientology doesnot conform to general stereotypes of reli-gion. Its literature may be divided into awidely circulated exoteric literature, andan esoteric literature. The exoteric litera-ture is concerned principally with thebasic principles of Scientology meta-physics and their practical application inhelping people to cope with their problemsof communication, relationships, and themaintenance of intelligence, rational, andpositive orientations to life. The restrictedcorpus of esoteric literature, which is madeavailable only to advanced students ofScientology, presents both a fuller accountof the metaphysics of the religion andmore advanced techniques of auditing. Itsets out in further detail the theory of the

theta (primal thought of spirit); its deteri-oration by becoming involved in the mate-rial universe of matter, energy, space, andtime in the process of past lives; and indi-cates the way in which man can acquire —strictly said, re-gain — supernatural abili-ties. Only Scientologists who are well-advanced are considered capable of grasp-ing the import of this exposition of thebelief-system and of fully comprehendingthe higher levels of auditing procedures setout in the esoteric literature.

In distinguishing between exoteric andesoteric teachings, Scientology is by nomeans unique among religions. On theprinciple enunciated by Jesus “I have manythings to say unto you, but ye cannot bearthem now” (John 16:12) and by Paul indistinguishing strong meat for seasonedbelievers from milk for babes (I Cor. 3:1-3;and Hebrews 5:12-14), various Christianmovements have maintained a distinctionbetween elementary and advanced doc-trines and practices. The general gnostictradition at the fringes of Christianity wasexplicitly committed to the preservation ofesoteric doctrines, and contemporarymovements sometimes categorized byscholars as “gnostic-type” sects commonlymake such distinctions. An example isChristian Science, the general teachings ofwhich are augmented by subjects taught tothose aspiring to become recognized practi-tioners by designated teachers in specialclasses, the content of which is confi-dential. Apart from these cases, TheChurch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saintsadmits to its special ceremonies only thoseMormons who are in good standing andreceive a permit from their bishop: thatindicates, inter alia, that they have beenfulfilling their commitment to tithe 10 percent of their earnings to the church: noothers are allowed to see these rituals.

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Close to the Protestant mainstream,Pentecostalists often disclose the full signif-icance of their teaching and practice of“the gifts of the Spirit” only at designatedservices and not at those meetings designedto attract the non-Pentecostal public. Thejustification for such differentiation is alsoan educational principle — advancedmaterial is available only to those whohave undergone earlier and more elemen-tary instruction which enables them toassimilate higher levels of instruction. Thisis the position taken by Scientology, theteachings of which require concentratedand systematized endeavour from students.

vii. INDICIA OF RELIGIONAPPLIED TO SCIENTOLOGY

vii.i. The Eliminationof Cultural Bias

There are various distinct difficulties inappraising new religious movements. Oneis that there are, in most societies, unspo-ken assumptions concerning religion thatput a premium on antiquity and tradition.Religious usage and expression is frequent-ly legitimized by specific reference to tradi-tion. Innovation in matters of religion isnot easily promoted or accepted. A secondproblem is the strong normative stance oforthodoxy (particularly in the Judaeo-Christian-Islamic tradition) which pro-scribes deviations and which uses a heavilypejorative language to describe them(“sect,” “cult,” “nonconformity,” “dissent,”etc.). A third problem is alluded to in fore-going paragraphs, namely, that it is pecu-liarly difficult for those acculturated in onesociety and brought up in one religious tra-dition to understand the belief-system ofothers, to empathize with their religiousaspirations, and to acknowledge the legiti-

macy of their means of expression.Religious ideas encapsulate certain culturalbiases and blinker vision. But, in seeking tointerpret a movement like Scientology, it isindispensable that these obstacles be recog-nized and transcended. This does not implythat to understand a set of religious ideasone must accept them as true, but a certainrapport must be established if the convic-tions of those of other faiths are to be givenappropriate respect.

vii.ii. The Case Thus Far

The foregoing discussion is necessarilywide-ranging and discursive, involving enpassant comparisons with other religiousmovements, and a review of literatureproduced by Scientologists and literatureabout Scientology by academic commen-tators. The history, doctrines, practices,and religious organization and moralimplications of Scientology have beenbriefly surveyed with particular attentionto those facets most at issue in the presentappraisal of the religious status of themovement. Such an assessment, in whichmany pertinent considerations have beenbrought forward, satisfies the contentionthat Scientology is a religion. However,since we have attempted (paragraph 2.01above) to set out in terms of abstract gen-eralization those features and functionswhich are of wide distribution, and henceof high probability, in religious systems, itis now appropriate to bring this modelinto deliberate use as a bench-marker forScientology’s claim to be a religion. Thereare wide divergences between the termi-nology used in Scientology and in thespecifications of the model, but thismight, at least to some extent, be the casefor many — perhaps all — religiousmovements. None the less, allowing for

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the generality of the abstract conceptsemployed, it should be possible to perceive, without undue difficulty orpotential for disagreement, the extent towhich Scientology meets the desiderataof the inventory we have produced.

vii.iii. Scientology in Light of the Indicia of a Religion

We now compare theattributes of Scientology withthe probabilistic inventory ofthe features and functions ofreligion set out in para ii.i,above. We note those items inwhich Scientology agrees, asAccord or Qualified Accord;those in which it does not cor-respond, as Non-Accord, orQualified Non-Accord andother cases as Indeterminate.

(a) Thetans are agencies which transcendnormal sense perception. It is also noted thatScientology affirms the existence of a supremebeing. Accord. (b) Scientology postulatesthat thetans created the natural order.Accord. (c) Thetans occupy human bodies,which amounts to continuous intervention inthe material world. Accord. (d) Thetansoperated before the course of human history,and are said to have created the physical universe and occupy bodies for their ownpleasure, identity and the playing of a game.This is, however, an indefinite purpose andthe Supreme Being in Scientology is not represented as having definite purposes.Qualified Accord. (e) The activity of thetansand the activity of human beings are identi-cal. The future lives of the thetan will be pro-foundly affected insofar as he gains releasefrom the reactive mind, in addition to beingprofoundly affected by the same process in hispresent lifetime. Accord. (f) Auditing and

training are means by which an individual caninfluence his destiny, certainly in this life andin the lives of the bodies which he may lateroccupy. Accord. (g) Rituals as symbolism inthe traditional sense of worship (e.g., CatholicMass) are minimal and rudimentary inScientology, as they are among Quakers, butthey do exist. Nonetheless, to adopt a conser-vative position, we may regard this item asIndeterminate. (h) Placatory action (e.g., sac-rifice or penance) is absent from Scientology.

The individual seeks wisdomand spiritual enlightenment.Non-Accord. (i) Expressions ofdevotion, gratitude, obeisanceand obedience to supernaturalagencies are virtually absent,except in the rites of passageprescribed in Scientology. Non-Accord. (j) AlthoughScientology has a distinctivelanguage which provides a

means of reinforcement of values internal tothe group, and the Scripture or teachings of L. Ron Hubbard are held sacred in the popular connotation of the term, this cannotbe said to conform to the technical sense ofsacred, as “things set apart and forbidden.”Non-Accord. (k) Performances for celebra-tion or collective penance are not a strongfeature of Scientology, but in recent years themovement has developed a number of com-memorative occasions, including the celebra-tion of the anniversary of Hubbard’s birth, thedate of the founding of the InternationalAssociation of Scientologists, and a date cele-brating auditors for their dedication. QualifiedAccord. (l) Scientologists engage in relative-ly few collective rites, but the movement’steachings do provide a total Weltanschauung,and so do draw members into a sense of fel-lowship and common identity. QualifiedAccord. (m) Scientology is not a highlymoralistic religion, but concern for moral pro-priety has grown as the full implications of its

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It is clear to methat Scientologyis a bona fidereligion and

should beconsidered as

such.

metaphysical premises have been realized.Since 1981, the moral expectations ofScientologists have been clearly articulated:these resemble the commandments of theDecalogue, and make more explicit the long-maintained concern to reduce “overt acts”(harmful acts). The doctrines of the reactivemind and reincarnation embrace ethical ori-entations similar to those of Buddhism.Accord. (n) Scientology places strongemphasis on seriousness of purpose, sustainedcommitment and loyalty to the organizationand its members. Accord. (o) The teachingsof transmigration in Scientology meets thiscriterion fully. The accumulative reactivemind corresponds to demerit for the thetan,and such demerit can be reduced by the appli-cation of Scientological techniques. Accord.(p) Scientology has functionaries who serveprimarily as “confessors” (auditors), some ofwhom are also chaplains whose tasks are pri-marily expository and pastoral. Auditors,course supervisors, and chaplains (in fact allstaff members) seek to preserve Scientologytheory and practice from contamination, andin this sense are custodians. Accord. (q)Auditors, course supervisors and chaplains arepaid. Accord. (r) Scientology has a body ofmetaphysical doctrine which offers an expla-nation for the meaning of life and its purpose,and an elaborate theory of human psychology,as well as an account of the origin and of theoperation of the physical universe. Accord.(s) The legitimacy of Scientology is in a formof revelation by L. Ron Hubbard. Hubbard’sown sources include mention of the ancientwisdom of the Orient, but are claimed to bealmost exclusively the results of research. Thismixture of appeal to tradition, charisma, andscience has been found in other modern reli-gious movements, conspicuously, ChristianScience. Qualified Accord. (t) Claims to thetruth of some of Scientology’s doctrines arebeyond empirical test, but the efficacy ofauditing is said to be provable pragmatically.

The goals of Scientology depend on faith inthe metaphysical aspects of the doctrine, how-ever, even if the means are claimed to besusceptible to empirical test. QualifiedAccord.

vii.iv. The Comparison Reviewed

The foregoing appraisal of Scientologyin the light of the probabilistic inventory ofreligion results in eleven items in whichthere is accord; five items on which there isqualified accord; three items on whichthere is no accord; and one item which isindeterminate. It cannot be assumed thatthese various features and functions of religion have equal weight of course, andthe numerical count should not produce anunduly mechanistic basis for assessment.Some items — for example, the existenceof a paid body of specialists — althoughcommon to religions, are not confined toreligions, and may therefore be deemed tobe of less import than some other items.Similarly, the placatory element that iscommon in religion might be held to bemerely a residual feature of earlier patternsof quasi-magical dependence from whichmore recently instituted religious organisa-tions may have freed themselves. Whilstmost traditional religions would meet mostof these probabilities, many well-recog-nized denominations would be out ofaccord with some of them. We have notedthis of Quakers with respect to worship,and of Christian Science with respect tolegitimation. Unitarians would fall short ona number of items — worship, sacraliza-tion, traditional concepts of sin and virtue,and perhaps on the significance of meta-physical teaching. Neither Christadel-phians nor Quakers would meet the criteriarelating to religious specialists or their payment.

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Bryan Ronald Wilson

vii.v. Scientologists PerceiveTheir Beliefs as a Religion

The use of the foregoing inventory shouldnot be allowed to create an impression thatthe findings set forth in this opinion rely onformal or abstract reasoning alone. Theinventory is a basis against which empiricalevidence — that is observed behaviour — isassessed. Many Scientologists have a strongsense of their own religious commitment.They perceive their beliefs and practices as areligion, and many bring to them levels ofcommitment which exceed those normallyfound among believers in the traditionalchurches. In this respect, many Scientologistsbehave like members of Christian sects, whoare generally more intensely committed totheir religion than are the vast majority ofbelievers in the old-established churches anddenominations. As a sociologist, I seeScientology as a genuine system of religiousbelief and practice which evokes from itsvotaries deep and earnest commitment.

vii.vi. Contemporary Change in Religion

We have noted that all religions haveundergone a process of evolution: theychange over time. It is also the case thatreligion per se undergoes change. As a social

product, religion takes on much of thecolour and character of the society in whichit functions, and newer movements revealcharacteristics that were not found in oldermovements (at least at the time of their ori-gin). Today, new developments in religionmake it apparent that there is much lessconcern with a posited objective reality“out there,” and more interest in subjectiveexperience and psychological well-being;less concern, therefore, with traditionalforms of worship, and more with the acqui-sition of assurance (which is itself a type ofsalvation) from other sources than the sup-posed comfort afforded by a remote saviour-god. We must, therefore, expect thisemphasis to become apparent in the inven-tory that we have used as a model. Themodel reflects a great deal that remainsextant in religion but which derives fromancient practice. Newer religions — evenreligions as old as the major Protestantdenominations — will not find accord withall these elements: they reflect the charac-teristics of the evolutionary stage at whichthey came into being. We must, therefore,allow that modern movements will not bein accord with all items in our (relativelytimeless) model. Taking all of this intoaccount, it is clear to me that Scientology isa bona fide religion and should be consid-ered as such.

About the Author

Bryan Ronald Wilson is Reader Emeritus inSociology, University of Oxford. From 1963 to 1993 hewas also a Fellow of All Souls College and in 1993 waselected an Emeritus Fellow.

For more than forty years he has conducted researchinto minority religious movements in Britain and in the United States, Ghana, Kenya, Belgium and Japan and other countries. His work has involved reading publications of these movements, and wherever possible,

associating with their members in the meetings, servicesand homes. It has also entailed sustained attention to,and critical appraisal of, the works of other scholars.

He holds the degrees of B.Sc (Econ) and Ph.D. ofthe University of London and the M.A. of the Universityof Oxford. In 1984, the University of Oxford recognizedthe value of his published work by conferring upon himthe degree of D. Litt. In 1992, The Catholic University ofLouvain, Belgium, awarded him the degree of DoctorHonoris Causa. In 1994, he was elected a Fellow of theBritish Academy.